By John Myers Jr. Staff ReporterGAS STATIONS could go 'self-serve' as dealers devise measures in a desperate attempt to contain steep rises in operational costs as the crisis in the petroleum sector deepens due to rising oil prices.
Lloyd Brown, president of the Jamaica Gasolene Retailers Association (JGRA), in an interview with The Gleaner yesterday, said the association was seriously considering the option as the survival of dealers becomes more uncertain in the face of the current volatility in the sector.
"We may very well have to look, as we speak, towards self-serve or have a combination of prices at the pump where if you serve yourself you get a lower price and if you want service you pay for it," Mr. Brown said.
He said the options open will be among other issues to be discussed at a special meeting of JGRA members today after which a decision will be made on whether they will be adopted.
The JGRA head pointed out that "when you examine the cost of operating a service station, roughly 64 to 65 per cent of the cost is associated with labour and that is an area which we need to examine..."
He noted that the current
uncertainty surrounding the industry had further compounded the woes of dealers, some of whose profit margin has plunged to a meagre 4.9 per cent. He pointed out that marketing companies are the ones which dictated the profit margin of dealers. He explained that since the increase of oil prices on the world market, dealers have had to absorb the extra costs. He said dealers suffered a further 1 1/2 to two per cent loss through normal evaporation of petrol during storage.
Over 2,000 persons are employed as gas station attendants across the island.
